POLAND, 1303. "Christiana!" Solomon called out as he got down from the carriage. I rolled my eyes in disappointment as Solomon stopped our ride halfway to our destination. It was because of this same girl, Christiana Klich. My brother liked Christiana, and it was so obvious. It angered me to see them together. "Sir Hawthorne," she said in surprise, her Polish accent finding its way between her words. "What are you doing here?" she asked, still in awe. "I was headed somewhere and was surprised to spot you on the way," he explained. "Are you with your brother?" she asked, lowering her voice. She feared me because I was ruthless and strict. And I had once warned her to stay away from him. Though she didn't tell him- because I compelled her not to -she feared to be around him when I was present. "Yes," he answered. "What are you so worried about?". "It is nothing to worry about," she said, looking at the carriage. "I think you should head back to your carriage and best be on you
WINEKOVE, PRESENT DAY. I stared silently into the alcohol remnant in my glass as I sat beside Solomon on the counter. We had been discussing the vampire hunter since I had returned. It was getting to morning, and I could tell by the twilight sneaking into the house through the windows, washing its dim light across all surfaces it encountered in the sitting room. I returned around 5 am and couldn't sleep since. So I woke Solomon up and told him about the bodies Dylan and Samantha had found in a dumpster earlier this morning. We sipped on alcohol as I narrated everything to him and reminisced about our first and only encounter with the hunter. We had barely made it out alive, and realizing he was back for us sent a gruesome sensation down our spine. "So, what are we going to do?" he spoke after sighing a few moments before. "I had ordered Dylan and Samantha to convince the vampires that it was a mere disciplinary measure faced by the dead vampires who had gone against the rules,
After the game, he called three of us closer to him. I knew what he would say, and he would praise Solomon and Zack. "You three were exceptionally brilliant today," he praised. "Thanks, coach," Zack appreciated with a smirk. "Where were you yesterday, Walker?" he asked with a raised brow. Zack looked at me in anger. "I caught a cold yesterday," he lied, not removing his eyes from me. "That's strange," the coach pointed out. "Hawthorne was sick too. What a weird coincidence". "How are you feeling, Solomon?" he asked. "I feel much better, thanks," he convinced. Coach nodded. "You and Walker were brilliant today," he praised again, confirming what I had read from his mind earlier. "I see you too as first team members real soon." "You, to
"I think we should bury this again," Solomon suggested. I looked at him, puzzled. "Why?" I asked. "We need to keep the police out of this. And by keeping the police out of this, we will keep them from discovering the darkness in this city", he explained. I nodded in understanding. "You think the vampire hunter did this." "Yes." I sighed. "Solomon, if the vampire hunter did this, that means..." "That means he also killed Mr. Brown, and his body is buried somewhere here," Solomon said through gritted teeth. "Let us find the body then," I said and zoomed into the forest behind the house. I searched everywhere close to the home and found nothing. "Desmond!" I heard Solomon call again, and I dashed toward him. I arrived and saw him standing above a dugout ground. He was panting and staring down at a body half decayed. It was Mr. Brown's. I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, infuriated. The Vampire hunter had just left another mark in town. "Let us cover him up and leave," I
She picked up two cupcakes from the tray and handed me one. I got it and took a bite of it. It was as tasty as it smelt, exorbitantly delicious. I had to give it to her, and she did a good job. "Hope, this is delicious," I acknowledged. "Thanks," she said stiffly. I sighed and kept the cupcake down. She watched me quietly. I walked closer, and she moved backward until her butt hit the counter's edge. End of the road, I smiled. We looked at each other in the eyes, our breath the only thing that pierced through the silence. I had kissed her once, and that was without permission. I hated myself for that. But now, she was wide awake, her heart pounding again in her ribs, and we came face to face, a few inches apart. I bet she knew what was about to happen. "You are angry at me," I pointed out. "Why?". "I'm not," she said, out of breath. She was probably mesmerized by my presence close to her. She held her breath. I stared at her lips as she spoke, and they were so beautiful, still
WINEKOVE.I dragged my luggage sluggishly into the sitting room. It was a long journey back home, and the bite on my neck wasn't helping. I dropped the bags in front of the couch and slumped on it, tired. I didn't know how much I could keep this up.Solomon walked in and stopped to look at me. He saw me breathing heavily, shook his head, and went upstairs. He still hadn't forgiven me. I was starting to have the feeling that he never would. I sighed and zoomed upstairs with my luggage.I entered my room slower than I had expected. I could run as fast as the speed of sound, but right now, it didn't seem so. The bite was messing me up. I would have to visit Zack soon enough. I didn't even know if I had the strength to do so.The doorbell rang, and I sped downstairs. I opened the door and was surprised to see Jocelyn and Zion. Jocelyn looked at me sternly. She was still scared that I was going to kill her and Zion. I planned on it. She didn't like me much, and the feeling was mutual."Wha
I woke up the next day tired. I was too feeble even to move. I touched my forehead, and I was as hot as hell. I was also sweating profusely because my hands were sticky. I sighed, winced, and sat on my bed slowly. I didn't know how long I would last like this. If things continued at this rate, I would have to request to be stabbed again. The pain was excruciating. I dragged the collar of my shirt and looked at the bite. It was getting nastier. I sighed and covered it back."Desmond!" Solomon called from downstairs. "You have a visitor."I wondered why he shouted when he knew I could hear him. My head was pounding, and his shout made things worst. I sighed and got off the bed. I walked down the stairs slowly, hoping it would lessen the pounding in my head, but it didn't. It took me almost five minutes to walk down the stairs. I finally arrived in the sitting room and saw Jocelyn, Zion, and Solomon chatting. Well, they seemed to have formed some friendship.Solomon turned and faced me
I didn't know how to start. Or instead, where to start. The fact that everybody was here made things even more challenging for me. I hadn't told Solomon about what happened last night yet, and I knew he would get mad when I started talking. I knew I was never going to get that apology accepted after this. "Hope,"Solomon called. "What is the matter?". "Let Desmond speak first,"she said gently. Everybody turned and looked at me. Solomon looked at me with a raised eyebrow, certainly intrigued about what I was about to say. "Go on, Desmond,"Solomon prompted. I sighed. "Hope knows I am a vampire,"I confessed. Solomon stood up, shocked. He looked at me and clenched his jaws. "What?!"he said. "I saw him speed into my room yesterday and knock out Melissa,"Hope added. "What is going on here?"Zion asked. "Let me explain!"I demanded. Everybody kept quiet and sat, eager to hear what would come from my mouth. I hoped she wouldn't creep out and tell the whole city because her mother was
"Father!" Faith screamed.My eyes widened for some moments. I was breathing heavily. I looked at my chest, and I could see the hole in there. It was pathetic how I was dying. After everything that had happened, after everything I had been through, I wasn't going to get the happy ending. I didn't deserve it, to be honest. I was paying for my past sins. Karma had finally caught up with me.I looked up at the sky and noticed it was twilight. I smiled as I admired the beautiful view. It was probably the last thing I was going to see. Who would have known that it would have come to this? I had promised to keep everybody alive and had failed. Jocelyn was dying beside me."Father," Faith said, arriving in front of me.I lo
Solomon shook my hand firmly and smiled at me. I was surprised at this. We were back home, and I was about to pour myself a glass of alcohol. I would need it because we would match down to the woods until we could find Suzana. Today was the day. We had to defeat her, or there was no way we would stand a chance against her once again.I realized why Solomon was shaking me. It was because of the treaty I had made with the werewolves. This treaty had joined the two supernatural species in town together. It was a new beginning for the town. It was sad that Hope and I wouldn't be around to see each other for long. We didn't plan on telling people about it until the battle was over.Hope had gone to her mother's office to tell the police to announce a mandatory lockdown from six tonight till the following day. We didn't want any human bein
I woke up to a high-pitched sound ringing in my ears. I stood up slowly and looked around my surroundings. Everybody was still out. Suzana had blasted us before she left. I turned around and looked for Faith. She was the first person on my mind. I was scared because it seemed like the blast was a distraction from Suzana to pick up Faith and escape. Well, that seemed genuine because I couldn't find Faith on the lawn.Terrified, I zoomed into Hope's body and tapped on it roughly. Hope's eyes opened slowly as they stared at me. She sat up slowly and held her head. She was probably feeling the migraine too. My heart was pounding fast. How was I going to tell her that Faith had been abducted again? And this time, it was under our very noses."What happened?" Hope asked, wincing in pain.
This was the time I had been waiting for. I couldn't hold it any longer. I had to go out with Hope and Faith. We needed a good time to clear the tension hovering over us. The fear of Suzana attacking us had gripped us so badly that sometimes the house would be quiet. Why? Because everybody was looking for a way we could destroy Suzana, but none was found. It had been frustrating, but we hadn't stopped looking. There was still hope. There had to be, or we would all die when Suzana decided to visit us.I had made a treaty finally with Zack. This was something that Solomon had been trying to do when we had first arrived at Winekove. But I had ended it telling him that the werewolves were supposed to live with us, and there had to be no two ways about it. We were at the top of the food chain at that time, and I had assumed that we were the most powerful creatures on Earth. That had been before Si
I was expecting Suzana anytime from now. Or was I just paranoid? This was the perfect moment to spend time with my family. I could take them out. It was even time I told Hope about my plan. If she said yes, we could leave in the next month or two. Probably after we defeated Suzana.I was growing confident that we could beat her. The tremendous amount of power that Jocelyn and Zion had shown me when they defeated Javicia gave me hope. Maybe we did stand a chance against Suzana? Or was I just being delusional? Suzana even had the power to raise the dead. She had raised my father and had used him against us. It wasn't friendly at all. I was used to it. My weakness had been exploited, and I had fallen for it too quickly.Could I blame myself? I loved my father, and the thought of spending eternity with him certainly intrigued me. Suzana
Everybody was in the living room. I, Hope, Solomon, Florence, Noah, mother, Jocelyn, and Zion. They had finally returned from the coven meeting. As leaders of their coven, I couldn't blame them for being absent throughout all that had happened. We eventually killed Silas again. The only thing remaining to make sure he stayed dead forever was to destroy his heart. I couldn't squash it with my hands, so I thought Jocelyn and Zion could use their magic to destroy it.Ever since they had gotten Raven and Theo's powers, they had leveled up tremendously. They were very powerful. I could even say they were as powerful as Javicia, and I hoped they could somehow match up with Suzana if the need for battle ever arose. Suzana was powerful, and I felt nobody could match up with her powers.We watched Jocelyn and Zion as they stood up from the co
It had been days since Silas had last attacked us, and I wondered what he and Javicia were planning. They knew the mansion's location, so it wasn't safe for Faith. They wanted her. Apparently, Suzana had asked them to fetch her. She was a greedy monster, and she needed to be put down.It wouldn't be easy, but there's always a way. Deep down, I knew that everybody had a weakness. It was just a matter of time before we discovered Susana's flaw. But if Suzana did have a weakness, wasn't it possible that somebody would have found it a long time ago? Suzana had been alive probably since the ice age. If there was a weakness, it should have been found by now.I was seated on the couch, trying to console my mother. Solomon was on the other side of her. Florence wasn't still back, and I wondered where she had gone. Noah was missing too, and I
I couldn't believe my eyes. I certainly was dreaming. How could this happen again? This was the second time it was happening before my eyes. My father was dying before my eyes for the second time. Was I cursed? Why did it always have to be me? Father was going, and there was nothing I could do about it.I stared at his eyes as he looked at me, smiling. He was leaving. I was crying because this time he wasn't coming back. He was going forever. Suzana confirmed my hypothesis. Someone had raised Father from the dead, and she had been the one. She had used her father to manipulate me and have her way. I couldn't believe I had fallen so quickly.Was it my fault? I prefer to think not. She knew my weakness; my father. She had used my father to have her way. I had told my father where I had buried Silas's heart. Suzana had fetched it
I was surprised to see her. How was she still alive? She should have died long ago. Well, that was a silly question because Suzana was immortal. If she could create such beings like us, how did her being alive become an issue? She had been alive for a long time, since when the first werewolves were made. That had been thousands of years ago. She seemed like a god to me. For her to manipulate a curse cast by a god, she deserved the title "god," too.My problem was that she was back in Winekove. What did she want? Because she was indeed looking for me and Solomon. It then hit me. The blast that had taken me out, she had been the one who had made it. No wonder the explosion had been so strong. It also reminded me that Suzana was strong, and we couldn't defeat her.I watched her as she walked up to us. Her black hair and crimson ey